INDIANAPOLIS – IndyCar announced Tuesday two new developments in the production of its 2018 Indy car.

Testing dates have been set, as the new car will undergo its first paces July 25-26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the series can take a look at the new universal bodywork kit's superspeedway oval configuration.

The road course configuration will be tested Aug. 1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. IndyCar also has scheduled two more tests, one Aug. 28 at Iowa Speedway and the other Sept. 26 at Sebring International Raceway.

The other development IndyCar announced Tuesday is that longtime partner Dallara will manufacture the universal bodywork kits. Dallara already builds the IR-12 chassis for IndyCar and will make sure the new kits fit those chassis.

“This has been a collaborative effort from multiple parties, including input from our paddock and fans,” IndyCar president of competition and operations Jay Frye said in a news release. “Dallara has been a great partner, and we couldn’t be more enthused with the look, the safety enhancements and the performance objectives of the 2018 car.”

Dallara, which has its U.S. headquarters in Speedway, has worked with IndyCar since 1997, when it began supplying safety cells. Along with the IndyCar chassis it has built since 2008, it also manufactures those used in the Indy Lights Series.

“2017 marks the 20th anniversary of our presence in IndyCar, and it is a great honor for us to continue our partnership with the Verizon IndyCar Series,” Andrea Pontremoli, Dallara CEO and general manager, said in the release. “Our main goal for the new aero kit was to work on the style, trying to maintain the American essence of the car and the series keeping a good level of performance and safety.”

One of the biggest differences between the new car and the current one is that downforce will originate from the undercarriage rather than from wings on top, many of which are not part of the new car. This development is designed not only to make the car look sleeker, but also to generate more passing, as drivers will have less turbulence to deal with when closing on other cars.